Why May December Flopped at the Oscars

May December appeared to be one of the top Oscar contenders of 2023, but then everything went wrong. What happened? In this latest video in my series Oscar Fiasco, I explore why the Todd Haynes film starring Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, and Charles Melton crashed and burned at the Academy Awards. #academyawards #oscars #maydecember #natalieportman #juliannemoore #charlesmelton #oscarfiasco #theawardscontender
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[@abhikmoj5853]

'All of us strangers' was the biggest snub of the oscars for me.

[@stefaniemezigian414]

Definitely. Best film I’ve seen in ages. It was so moving

[@rebeccag8589]

Me too. It was my number one film of the year. So incredibly moving. Months later, I'm still thinking about it.

[@NormaLilia24]

It was so good, I watched at my local cinema and I was in awe, left the theatre walking home like 😦

[@antoniodjordjevic9493]

Absolutely

[@trinaq]

It's a pity that Charles Melton didn't get an Oscar nomination for his strong work as Joe. You really sympathise with him as he comes to terms with the fact that he was groomed during his entire relationship with Gracie. His heartbreak and pain are definitely palpable.

[@kierancurtis5123]

Melton was probably number 8 after Willem Dafoe was his great performance as Godwin Baxter in Yorgos Lanthimos' Poor Things and Dominic Sessa for hid formidable debut performance in the legendary Alexander Payne's The Holdovers.

[@thingthang2904]

Charles Melton was better than every single supporting actor nominee imo.

[@HiSummerWasHere]

I think it was Fualaau expressing his feelings of exploitation that knocked all of the other dominos down. It was lauded before he said it, it disappeared after he said it. It’s hard to applaud something that a real person publicly says they feel is exploiting their trauma.

[@ladonnakalala]

I also think this is the reason

[@Nik-pp3qs]

I wish they could’ve found a way for him to be involved with this so he could feel like he was telling his story or reclaiming his power in a way (a la Tonya Harding with I, Tonya).

[@hothotheat3000]

Yup, the Academy didn’t want that smoke.

[@pony7653]

Oh definitely. It was gaining momentum right before Fualaau came out and then crickets. I think Charles Melton for sure would have been nominated, maybe Julianne Moore for best supporting actress, best picture, maybe more. I don’t think it would have been a main player at the oscars, but it would have more than 1 nomination for sure.

[@thingthang2904]

@@Nik-pp3qs The tricky part is that Fualaau's story is used as the backstory for May December. The events of the film (as in the actual plot) are all fictional. There was no actress who visited, no twin graduation to prepare for, no pet store, no cake orders to be cancelled. What's based on real events is what happened but not what's happening. It's unfortunate because I geniunely feel it was the most compelling film of the year along with Anatomy of a Fall, but you can't ignore the irony that a film about exploitation, unintentionally ended up doing what it was criticizing. In hindsight, they should've removed the "who was the boss" line and the backstory about a baby born in prison OR consulted with him.

[@trinaq]

At least it got recognised for Best Original Screenplay, but it deserved an Oscar nomination for Charles Melton.

[@kierancurtis5123]

Melton was probably number 8 after Willem Dafoe was his great performance as Godwin Baxter in Yorgos Lanthimos' Poor Things and Dominic Sessa for hid formidable debut performance in the legendary Alexander Payne's The Holdovers.

[@LouiseAndersen1991]

But who doesn´t get nominated then? I loved Meltons performance, and a nod in his direction had been very fair - but this has been one of the strongest surporting actor years in recent years

[@thingthang2904]

@@LouiseAndersen1991 I have to disagree. Ruffalo and Gosling could've easily been out. Gosling was charming and sweet sure, but not nomination worthy imo. Ruffalo was the most distracting part of Poor Things. Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe (and a lot of the smaller characters) commited to the absurdity of the film's tone but Mark Ruffalo felt like he was playing absurd. His accent was all over the place and his mannersisms were more fitting for an SNL skit about the movie instead of the movie itself. The kid from Anatomy of a Fall was better than both of them.

[@rafac7384]

What still doesn't make sense to me is America Ferrera being nominated for that mediocre performance (she didn't do anything but average), while Julianne Moore was snubbed!!! It makes no sense! In fact, it does, because the Oscars have become an award for “best campaign” rather than “best performance.” Of course, the Academy was right to award Emma Stone.

[@Argeaux2]

I guess you, like a lot of people, think that Barbie was a film about a doll. America’s performance was what the film hinged on. It was the whole point of the movie. Watch again.

[@Argeaux2]

I thought Lily Gladstone deserved the Best Female Actor Oscar. Emma Stone’s performance was BIGGER, which meant that the Academy NOTICED IT MORE, than Gladstone’s more subtle turn. This often happens with the Oscars.

[@rogue9230]

@@Argeaux2Barbie is not that deep it’s a comedy satire

[@rafac7384]

@@Argeaux2, I guess you aren't able to separe a comment about a performance from a comment about the movie! I'm talking about her performance, she didn't do anything great in that movie. That scene was okay, her performance was just ok. On the other hand, Laura Dern gave us a really good performance in "Marriage Story" (speech scene). Read it again!

[@KaeMcSpadden]

I thought Melton’s performance was amazing, and the story was quite thought provoking, how our society is so lenient in the way we treat and punish female pedophiles compared to males.

[@jeshellecerbito6697]

I actually think it was the other way around, esp how the real life person "got away with it."

[@KaeMcSpadden]

@@jeshellecerbito6697 If this was a male teacher hitting on a 13 year old girl, it would have been a shit show. And yet the real life person was able to only serve several years in jail and live a pretty normal life.

[@paulofuokwu3137]

Charles Melton should have been nominated

[@user-mm3mm6qx8f]

The real question is "Why Maestro was nominated 7 oscars? " Maestreo : Metascore 77 IMDb 6.5 ←the lowest in 56 years as a best picture nominee May December: Metascore 86 IMDb 6.9

[@jasonscott4366]

May december sucked ass. Fuck what the scores say. Maestro was exceedingly better

[@jasonscott4366]

Lowest in 56 years to be a best pic nominee? They didnt have rhese scores 50, 40, 30, 20 years ago lol

[@bradryan8588]

That’s not true. Without digging too deeply I know for certain that extremely loud and incredibly close was nominated for best picture despite a sub fifty rotten/meta score

[@rhythmoriented]

There are others in that neighborhood or even lower. One right off the top includes Don’t Look Up with a metascore of 49. Also, Barbie and The Power of the Dog, both films with double digit nominations and even some Oscar wins, have IMDb scores of 6.9 and 6.8, respectively.

[@user-mm3mm6qx8f]

@@bradryan8588 Only IMDb

[@15Candles]

Dang, i remember some people expecting Charles Melton to win huge at award season and be RDJ's tough competition but turned out it fell apart about halfway through. He should've been nominated for an Oscar at the very least, oh well i still hope to see Charles in more good movies and hopefully someday he will be at the Oscars even just for a nomination. May December proved that Riverdale doesn't deserved his talent at all

[@kierancurtis5123]

Melton was probably number 8 after Willem Dafoe was his great performance as Godwin Baxter in Yorgos Lanthimos' Poor Things and Dominic Sessa for hid formidable debut performance in the legendary Alexander Payne's The Holdovers.

[@Argeaux2]

Iron Man was always going to win the Oscar. Marvel wanted their statue, and this was the only way to get it.

[@15Candles]

Despite the fact that i like both Maestro and May December, it's still crazy that Netflix didn't pushed May December even harder for an award campaign as they did with Maestro. Idk what the hell happened 🤷

[@branagain]

I thought Nyad was the best Netflix film.

[@jonathanvelazquezph.d.2719]

​@@branagainI actually enjoyed it too

[@Argeaux2]

Nyad was excellent, but nothing really new. We’ve seen that same type of film over and over. It was basically Chariots of Fire in Water with Women.

Bradley Cooper probably pushed more for his film than Natalie and Juliane did. They already won an Oscar, probably don't care that much if May December does well or not. Meanwhile, Cooper REALLY wants that award.

[@poett8875]

Maestro is traditional Oscar bait. It’s not surprising Netflix made it their main priority.

[@roycerowland2699]

I think that it's the subject matter of the film may had rubbed people the wrong way. Don't get me wrong I really like the film and that Charles Melton's performance absolutely broke my heart. He was absolutely heartbreaking as Joe. May December could had been nominated for best cinematography, film editing and obviously best supporting actor for Charles Melton and best supporting actress for Julianne Moore. I still think that it should had been nominated at the Golden Globes in drama not comedy I am just saying.

[@hothotheat3000]

The other movies had charismatic personalities promoting them, or a fun narrative around them, or a beloved person who was overdue, or some combination of all of these. This thing just ran out of gas. The subject matter made people uncomfortable. Fulauu called it exploitative, and typically, real life subjects hating the movie they’re depicted in tends to ding a movie’s chances. And frankly, there were stronger movies with better campaigns.

[@mgariepy42]

You’ve nailed it. Not in contention with others for all the reasons you cite.

[@tbam73]

I would be very intrigued if you did an Oscar Fiasco video for The Color Purple. Lots to unpack and would be interested to see how you dissected all the factor.

[@singstreetcar5881]

Taraji 😂

[@JacquelynJoyce]

Danielle Brooks deserved more

[@Loosetext]

Great video. May December and All of Us Strangers were robbed. Definitely the finest and emotional movies this year that should’ve been better recognized

[@abysstruthpoet]

I wouldn't say that the movie was fictional it was highly inspired by real life from them having multiple kids and a long marriage after and despite a different race similar skin tones of the guy. His frustration is warranted this was a fictional telling of a actual story like once upon a time in Hollywood and not a work of fiction

[@daveinprogress3]

Some feedback, I'm sure you don't get enough of, Brian, but the effort and inventiveness you put into your editing is really appreciated. I can tell how much you trawl through footage to overlay your comments. Bravo!

[@rafaelcruz9973]

I think this movie is just too subversive to be embraced by general audiences. When talking about a "serious" topic, people expect a cookie cutter moral-based narrative with a climatic emotional beat and May December is the complete opposite. I felt like I was watching one of those classic foreign films like Persona and that's what was so great about it. Maybe the movie will be better remembered as the years go by...

[@isaacmartinez6904]

It’s simple: Too many good films this year.

[@bjms5487]

Not really. I don"t think maestro, american fiction and the zone of interest are superior than this

[@55555gino]

I think Rosamund Pike should’ve been nominated instead of Ferrera, and Julianne Moore was a strong 6th

[@t221000]

Don’t get me started on Ferrera getting a nomination for one monologue

[@abhikmoj5853]

Moore and Clair Foy would have been my picks in place of Foster and god awful Ferrara.

[@15Candles]

Claire Foy, Julianne Moore, Rosamund Pike, or even Rachel McAdams could've been a better choice than Ferrera

[@thingthang2904]

@@t221000 Ferrera delivered a better monologue in Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants and I'm not even making a joke.

[@t221000]

@@thingthang2904 I never 👎 saw that movie

[@pophector]

Great video. Agreed on Moore and Melton deserving on being stronger contenders. Such an eerie and haunting film that should have been recognized more, along with All Of Us Strangers.

[@jonathanvelazquezph.d.2719]

May December started really strong but ended flat when we got closer to the industry awards. I remember it even made AFIs list of 10 best movies of the year. Best Supporting Actress had room for Julianne Moore. However, sadly, Best Supporting Actor was stacked this year. Personally, I would've taken Sterling out to put Melton in. But, think about how many worthy actors didn't make the Best Supporting Actor category: Sessa, the kid from Anatomy of a Fall, Dafoe, Melton, etc. What a year of Supporting Actors!

[@thingthang2904]

I honestly thought the opposite. Gosling and Ruffalo I felt didn't hold a candle to all the other performances you mentioned. Dare I say, Melton was better than RDJ too.

[@tenzen6899]

Bro I know everyone is talking about Charles Melton and rightfully so but how did America Ferrera got nominated over Julienne Moore ????????????????

[@smann87]

You probably know why: it's that one, infamous monologue that ends up being perhaps the most memorable scene of Barbie, the #1 box office film of the year and a Best Picture nominee. Without that monologue, everyone knows there would have been no Oscar nomination. I'm not a huge fan of Barbie for the record, but that monologue was a really important scene of a film a lot of people really liked. I do think it would be interesting to think of a list of these type of nominations where one scene is what arguably nabs an actor an Oscar nomination, it makes me think of Sideways when Virginia Madsen absolutely nails a scene comparing her life and getting older to wine, that one scene is what assured her nominations for every major award that awards season.

[@tenzen6899]

@@smann87 so she got nominated for one scene which wasn't even all that great over a Solid performance by Julienne Moore ? The only good reason is people consider Julienne a Lead performance and her campaign as supporting is category fraud, other than Than Julianne gave a stellar performance !!

[@smann87]

@@tenzen6899 Naturally, that's your opinion and the notion of who delivered the 'best' performance is notoriously subjective. I think America did a fantastic job with her monologue. Would I have voted for her performance to be nominated if I were an Academy member? Probably not. But a lot of people liked Barbie, and as long as they did, America's monologue delivered the core message of the film. Everyone who watched Barbie, which was a lot of people, remembered that scene and America's acting. I think when you consider Brian's video here and the comments in the section, a lack of desire to embrace May December resulted in not enough voters wanting to vouch for the film when they were allowed to consider which performances they wanted to get nominated. Barbie had a ton more exposure than May December, which perhaps a lot of actors didn't even watch as it's the actors decide who gets nominated for an Oscar. Best Supporting Actress often has surprise nominations from Best Picture contenders, like the time the mother/wife in Roma got nominated even though she wasn't nominated in any other precursors.

[@smann87]

@@tenzen6899 - Side note, I would also consider the fact that Julianne Moore is such an exceptional actress (my favorite actress as a teenager!), that there is less prioritization to nominate her after she won for Still Alice. I think she deserves more nominations, but it wouldn't surprise me if she gets in again either for a film where she has a phenomenal lead performance, or if she would be riding on the support of a Best Picture contender/nominee. I think the collective support for the Academy to support May December just wasn't there this year. She was wonderful as well in A Single Man, another example of her giving an acclaimed supporting performance that just kind of was slept on by the Academy. It reminds me of how Kate Winslet has given great performances over the years, but has only been nominated once since winning for The Reader in 2009.

[@tenzen6899]

@@smann87 I understand your point, I know why she got nominated techniclly yes, but you didnt get what I'm trying to say, the point is America Ferrera got nominated for a mediocre performance, the category is called "Best Actress in a Supporting Role" NOT "Best Actress in a Best Picture nominee". what you said could be applied to Margot Robbie, she was literally Barbie and no it's not the most memorable part of the film, in my opinion it's the last scene. America's speech was shallow and has no depth, it was Plastic White Feminism at its peak, Margot was Barbie and could've been Best Actress nominee but they went for Anette in Nyad (in my opinion it should've been Greta Lee from Past Lives) but anyways Margot still was nominated because simply they were better performances. So America is in the Bigger most liked movie is not enough for me, we should talk about the performance not the movie and this is getting redicilous these past years who ever is in the Better movie (with more nominations/wins) will win best Actor/Actress) : Frances in Nomadland, Emma Stone, Cillian Murphy, Michelle Yeoh, Olivia Colman.....the Oscar should go to the Objectivelt the best not for who leads the bigger movie.

[@Argeaux2]

I enjoyed the film a lot, but this was a bumper year for great movies. Not every film could be rewarded.

[@ejm6460]

Yeah Melton and Moore missing out was an absolute head scratcher for sure. Julianne Moore's work alone comparing to America Ferrera (no dis; I love her!) is laughable

[@user-mm3mm6qx8f]

In Japan, "May December" is still not on Netflix, or anywhere else. Not on theater as well.

[@jothishprabu8]

piracy

[@ominous_light]

May December was only released in US Netflix for some reasons, idk why

[@shivanshshukla5524]

Yes even in India... The film is not available here also

[@Mungoteazer11581]

It's also not on Netflix in Germany, but will be released im cinemas in June.

[@palomageorge]

Juliane Moore should have absolutely been nominated instead of Danielle Brooks or America Ferrera. Her performance was much more nuanced and layered than anything that they did.

[@Milos-sj6ir]

100%. Can't believe America got in in place of Moore.

[@YordankaIvancheva]

66% average audience score tells that general audience wasn't that much into it.

[@andya8960]

The Academy loves to snub Todd Haynes 😭😭 Amazing video!!

[@15Candles]

I'm honestly kinda shocked that his only Oscar nomination so far was for Far From Heaven back in 2002. Like, he had a long career and only got one Oscar nomination? Nothing for Carol or even I'm Not There?

[@tenzen6899]

Ryan Gosling in Barbie is Overrated, Charles Melton from May December or Dominic Sessa from The Holdovers would've been better picks

[@lavenderamethyst6050]

“…on Maestro, which I do think sucked-“ END OF SENTENCE. 😂

[@kierancurtis5123]

Melton was probably number 8 after Willem Dafoe was his great performance as Godwin Baxter in Yorgos Lanthimos' Poor Things and Dominic Sessa for hid formidable debut performance in the legendary Alexander Payne's The Holdovers.

[@lee_rock_films]

Stop repeating the same thing we get it

[@carlatejada2955]

I love that u post several videos per week. I can’t get enough of them!!

[@lukeywebo]

Irrespective of this shortcoming, I cannot wait to see what Samy Burch does next. I’m sure she’ll be back at the Oscars in the future.

[@antoniodjordjevic9493]

Also to note is that every Todd Haynes film UNDERPERFORMED AT THE OSCARS. Even more Oscar friendly Far from Heaven was snubbed for director, picture, supporting actor, costumes etc, Carol for director, picture etc. Not to mention Safe, Velvet Goldmine, Wonderstruck getting one or no nominations. Haynes just isn't their thing, even with,, all new diverse voters,,.

[@Milos-sj6ir]

Carol did really well, actually, with 6 nods, though it's not my favorite of his. But yeah, they don't like him that much. I think it's because his films aren't box office hits at all. That said, he deserved an Oscar nod for May December imo. It's one of his best. It was a very crowded year for Director, though. By the way, you got a website or insta, where you talk about film? Would be cool to follow.

[@antoniodjordjevic9493]

@@Milos-sj6ir yes I have instagram

[@antoniodjordjevic9493]

@@Milos-sj6ir I've written here my Instagram but for some reason you tube is deleting this comment

[@antoniodjordjevic9493]

@@Milos-sj6ir what is your name on insta?

[@YControl129]

I thought May December was outstanding. It was too dark for the Oscars, too hard to pin down in terms of genre and, above all, was led by two actresses. 4/5 of the best actress nominees this year shared a lot of screen time with their male costars (hell, even Barbie ended up being a Gosling showcase), and here we have a slow burner with Portman and Moore out-creeping each other scene after scene. In two or three years we'll look back at it the way we adore Carol now.

[@jigjigalmendarez-dagus4030]

I keep asking myself, until now, why America Ferrera was nominated Best Supporting Actress instead of Julianne Moore.

[@raymondtitano3819]

And why was Sterling K. Brown and nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role over Charles Melton?

[@flmbyz]

Regarding Haynes, I’ve worked on two of his sets (Carol & Dark Waters)…and sadly, it seems that his movies always sounds like they should be contenders, but always find some way to come up short. Dark Waters is one that I was surprised came out as quickly as it did, we did reshoots that summer and it was out by that December in limited release. I thought that was nuts because the movie’s subject matter could have made it a great contender had it held off and did an award run in 2020…which it could have been a huge contender in such a small field.

[@kapner2104]

“I don’t think we have enough hot dogs.” *cut to overhead shot of grill with hot dogs bursting out the sides*

[@tbam73]

I didnt think May December was going to get the Oscar appreciation critics hoped. It was a good movie, not great. Its def not a movie I would watch again. Best Picture def a stretch. Melton was the most impressive performance in the movie. Unpopular opinion, they could have removed Gosling and had Melton instead

[@SoulKnightKing]

Oh please. Rachel McAdams in Are You There God? Its Me, Margaret was robbed of any attention the entire awards circuit

[@patrarus6097]

Thanks so much, Brian, for your excellent commentary. I agree with you. I think Filau absolutely should have been consulted on the movie. What a snub for him. Also, as you pointed out, the comedic elements were really out of place for this dead-serious subject matter. That so-called humor certainly turned me off. Bottom line: I, frankly, was disappointed after all of the praise, especially at Cannes.

[@ella2117]

When Filau came out and the Director/Producer insisted and doubled down that it wasn't based on his story, such bad faith deserved all of the snubs. You don't need to come out of Yale to see it was a fictional version of Mary Kay Letournau and arguing otherwise makes it feel even more icky

[@singstreetcar5881]

Take all those maestro nominations and share it amongst may December, the iron claw, all of us strangers,

[@Sara01977]

I’m glad you discussed this movie. I thought it was so odd that it fell off the award circuit. It seems most of my favorite movies for 2023 weren’t as liked as others. These should have gotten more accolades, (no order): Saltburn, May December, Priscilla, Society of the Snow.

[@samuelbarber6177]

Okay, maybe I just don’t get this movie but can someone explain why this is so popular? It’s okay I guess but I found it rather dull and uninteresting. I don’t know, it just felt too much like a movie that was trying to make some kind of point but whatever it was I couldn’t suss out and was frankly bored.

[@3xsxs953]

I'd say on the contrary, it's a film that sort of lingers in the in-between rather than trying to make a specific point. It's morally ambiguous, it's a drama but with flashes of comedy, and none of the main characters are heroes or villains. We see them as fully fleshed out human beings with all of their flaws. It's admittedly an uncomfortable movie at times, but I appreciated that it leaned into that discomfort, because frankly, the real life subject matter it's based off of is extremely unsettling! I think ultimately the movie doesn't end up sitting on one side of the fence or the other, which I can get for general movie going audiences who want everything wrapped up in a neat bow can be dissatisfiying, but I really respected it and thought it was fresh. It's a movie that lingers after you watch it, even if that lingering taste is slightly bitter and strange.

[@zakuraiyadesu]

Love the videos, man. Keep it up!!!

[@jacobdawes6405]

Please do a Oscar fiasco on my best friends wedding. Only one nom is crazy, should've got all the acting noms, picture, screenplay and costumes

[@christophermperez9624]

Fualaau torpedoed it as he should have. I think it’s odd and arrogant to make a movie about an actor visiting and learning from their subject and then not actually do that in the making of the film. The movie’s characters are fictional but his story was clearly the inspiration for the screenplay.

[@PrincessLioness]

I’m disappointed in Brian for trying to downplay that as an aspect as to why the movie bombed. I think it was the number 1 reason.

[@ella2117]

Love your analysis as usual!

[@BFA100]

I couldn't sit through the whole movie, I got less and less interested as the film went on and it was a slog to watch this overrated film.

[@Argeaux2]

You keep saying that Saltburn was divisive. It wasn’t really. People who aren’t film buffs, and who aren’t horror fans, found parts of it uncomfortable. The critical reviews I read seemed to find it delightful.

[@smann87]

I love watching movies, have been following Oscar season since the 90's and without having read anything about Saltburn before watching it, I started thinking "This feels a lot like the Talented Mr. Ripley!" halfway through it. I say that because I had no idea that other people apparently thought the same thing. So besides that it didn't feel original for me, the ending to me also didn't make logical sense as far as what happened with the characters. I feel with its 61 Metacritic score, it's an indication that people were entertained and perhaps loved what Emerald Fennell was trying to say with her message points, but there were those of us who just felt it wasn't that original and the later part of the film didn't ultimately make total sense in cohesion with the storyline. There probably were people grossed out too, but that's not the only reason people didn't care for the movie that much. So regarding the Metacritic score, I wouldn't say I hated it, but I definitely didn't love it or like it that much, so I get why that 61 rating is there.

[@samuelbarber6177]

I don’t know, I’ve some pretty differing takes on the film. Some consider it a masterpiece while others consider it pretentious drivel attempting to imitate better films (I fall into that latter camp, though maybe not that strongly).

[@Wolf-wc1js]

⁠@@samuelbarber6177was one of those films that it tried to imitate The Talented Mr. Ripley?

[@emillion4470]

6. 2023 was a banner year for great movies - an embarrassment of cinematic riches. All the nominees for Best film were exceptional. May/Dec was right there, albeit just below the line. Bryan, if you feel so strongly about this film's merits (as I do), which actual nominations would you swap for potential May/Dec noms?

[@kevynstates5794]

Julianne should not have added the lisp

[@BatALash]

Agreed. It was annoying.

[@redred4877]

Love this film. Deserved many awards.

[@chazzer6545]

it might have something to do with it's distribution. netflix only had us distribution so a campaign from them must have been limited and the international distributors probably didn't do a campaign as they've never done one and it's still to be released in some countries and released in a ton after noms had came out

[@lonellfletcher]

Please do the Color Purple. They couldn't even give it tech nods? I want answers!!!!!

[@kethkirk7470]

I would start with the acting branch of the Academy for not nominating Portman, Moore and Charles. All three were excellent and, for me, the highlight of the film. Terrific acting that for some reason the actors in the academy didn't get. Acting is subjective, but damn what a powerful ensemble of three.

[@marthasandler6691]

Thank you thank you thank you for pointing out that Taraji P Henson was the MVP in The Color Purple! Although I’m happy Danielle Brooks made every televised nomination, Henson gave my favorite performance in that movie, and she is so overdue for a 2nd nomination. You can’t make too many videos reflecting on the 2024 Oscars, especially as there is time before the new season heats up. It helps to amplify the films that did not get as much recognition. I definitely want to see All of Us Strangers and Saltburn now! I have yet to see your “how she did it” video for America Ferrera, but I love her body of work, and I’m happy she’s an Oscar nominee now!

[@maxfieldfulton]

I’m mad at SAG. Sometimes they get it right, but more often than not they ruin acting and picture wins at the Oscars. Can we please move them to April?

[@alejandromangieri1495]

Do a video like this for All Of Us Strangers please

[@singstreetcar5881]

Why do I have a feeling robert downing jr has something to do with this movie underperforming at the oscars Charles melton was gaining so much momentum at the beginning of award season and then POOF, he was nowhere to be found. No bafta nom No sag nom No oscar nom

[@perryjones7771]

I don’t understand how he swept the entire season when there were way better supporting performances than his.

[@jonathanvelazquezph.d.2719]

​@perryjones7771 It's not a great performance, but it's good enough for a career win. I rank him 4th in the category. Many others were more deserving.

[@richenric]

I have the same feeling you do. I just feel that RDJ is the main reason May December was erased. Let’s be honest, Charles Melton was the only real competition he had. Melton was really strong in December

[@ella2117]

What the heck did you come up with to even think that RDJ, a veteran with a career best performance (wether you agree or not it's a matter of opinion, critics and industry bodies thought so) poised for the win was even a bit afraid of Melton, a no name newcomer under 30 with just a CW messy series in his credentials? Critics don't equal industry. BAFTA longlists gave the early warning. The movie was icky and disrespectful towards the real life victim that Charles Melton plays. Period.

[@YordankaIvancheva]

Melton wasn't even on the Bafta long list. How does this have anything to do with Downey?

[@tyrannosaurusburke]

Would it be too late to do an Oscar Fiasco episode on "Da 5 Bloods"?

[@singstreetcar5881]

Now that the dust has settled, did robert downing jr deserve to sweep award season for best supporting actor? He didn't lose any award,he won everything. Even emma stone didn't sweep (she lost at sag) cilian Murphy didn't sweep (lost critics choice)

[@t221000]

I fell asleep during Oppenheimer and literally can’t remember RDJ’s performance

[@samuelbarber6177]

Eh, I personally think so. I think he was fantastic in that movie, but then again I haven’t seen all the movies.

[@rogue9230]

@@t221000says more about your attention span then the film itself

[@t221000]

@@rogue9230 I never said it was because of the movie. I was just really tired

[@Nik-pp3qs]

His part was highly forgettable in that movie. It was more of a career Oscar, and I’d have liked to see Mark Ruffalo win something this season instead for Poor Things.

[@dietdrpepper15]

May December just wasn't that good, it was like an outline of a movie, too scared to actually dig into the material that it was about. Just skated around it.

[@nicole71047]

💯this I liked it but how used that story . Really could be something more

[@dietdrpepper15]

@@nicole71047 yeah like it was “look at all this depth and deeper meaning!”….ugh where?!

[@mr29]

Natalie Portman's best performance in years. That monologue!

[@bruh_hahaha]

please do one for The Color Purple 😎

[@ziyaadbassier8998]

could you do a video exploring if Rachel McAdams stood a chance getting a nomination if it were any other year for BSA?

[@stephany_joaquin]

Charles Melton should've gotten the treatment RDJ got this award season.

[@jothishprabu8]

American Fiction and John Williams definitely didn't deserve the nom for best score. It could have gone to May December and Across the spiderverse !!!!

[@samuelbarber6177]

I don’t know that May December would qualify for Original Score since it was mostly adapted from another movie’s

[@jothishprabu8]

@@samuelbarber6177 oh didn't know that

[@zacblake9249]

I don't think any of these reasons hold any water, particularly Fualau's commentary. He's. not a strong enough voice to take away any light from a film, even one "loosely based" on his own life. It's simple: 2023 was a year where too many good movies come out and Oscars/The Academy only has "room" for a select few. Which, come to think of it, is almost every year. You will always have snubs. All this, is weak speculation.

[@HeartbeatCN]

Funny how the only time Davine was defeated was when she was pitted against a man. Gives the vibes that we shouldn't be having gender neutral categories at all.

[@sherilea01]

It was ok. However the story it was bases off of has been covered ao much. I also felt so bad for Vili when he said they basically stole his story.

[@LucyLioness100]

I don’t blame Villi for being upset. While it’s not a biopic about his ordeal, the grooming relationship between Joe and Grace is still exactly what Mary Kay did to Villi when he was just 11

[@TheOscarDogs]

I think the acting is what really made the movie special, whereas I felt the screenplay was lacking depth. It was just fascinating to watch the three characters act.

[@TheJoseoleman101]

Please please please make a video about all of us strangers. Zero Oscar noms is a complete atrocity 😭

[@thejotaa]

This movie deserved at least an Oscar nomination for Julianne

[@11MV]

How they got the noms for nyad over this I don’t get

[@marcellusfinch6366]

Since you brought up far from heaven how about a video about both the Dennis’s (Quad and Haysbert) getting snubbed for supporting actor

[@champreviewer5572]

Have you considered doing a video on why Selma flopped at the Oscars? During that time, it was controversial especially with the lack of diversity of no actors of color being nominated at that time?

[@therealangelosettler]

Def because of no buzz lol I didn't hear about the movie until December lol

[@leightonbate7516]

When I saw it though it was enjoyable I wasn't sure the tone Haynes was going for.

[@Tacho99]

I don't know if it is controversial, but while I did like the movie, I Hated the pacing and overall editing. IDK if it happened to someone else aswell.

[@jeffonmars]

That shirt is so cute 🥹

[@doncasto8520]

To me the movie was "meh".

[@antoniodjordjevic9493]

Julianne Moore acted circles around most of the supporting actress nominees.

[@h0pelessdreamerfilms]

Charles Melton was the best supporting performance of 2023, tbh.

[@rc1186]

"I don't think we have enough Academy Award nominations."

[@thejotaa]

I think best acting Oscar win of the 2010s was Cate Blanchett in BLUE JASMINE

[@chelmrtz]

The film is icky

[@johnyzero2000]

You beat me to it! I was grossed out about the movie and I hate to be smug but it made me appreciate I have morals.

[@Nik-pp3qs]

Icky films can be great, but this one was not well done, entertaining, or interesting enough to make up for its controversial subject matter. It was too scared and dull to make a real statement about its characters.

[@ilibana]

Do a lot of the same people vote at all of the awards?

[@EJX220]

May December was 100x better as a film than Maestro…

[@Nik-pp3qs]

Despite its efforts, the film didn’t make as strong of an impact as it tried to. The tone was all over the place, and that ending was awful.

[@pdzombie1906]

You can't show women as predators in Hollywood right now...

[@alpe1987]

Considering that the subject matter on the heels of a post ME TOO probably didn’t help much. Don’t create a melodrama with a comedic twist

[@user-xw1jm6xy9m]

Do halle berry vs sissy spacek

[@Martin-gx7yu]

Comme on it not really flopped. Todd Haynes movies were never the Academy darlings. (Carol no Best picture nom?? 🤦‍♂️) So none could really thougt it would get many love.

[@VTMCompany]

"May December" put me to sleep.

[@Sternisgod1]

Same. I hated it.

[@HiSummerWasHere]

I also didn’t connect with it at all

[@lopezfan24]

I had to fast forward a lot scenes

[@giovannifrancisetti5269]

To hot topic?

[@antoniodjordjevic9493]

Oscars snubbed everything that was not playing it safe, that was experimental, that actually had passion from critics except Zone of Interest and Anatomy but those two had ENORMOUS BUZZ after winning top prizes at Cannes to the point if they don't vote for them they would look stupid. May December, Saltburn, All of us strangers, Origin, A Thousand and One etc and even Past Lives underperformed. Sad. Feel good films, mainstream Hollywood and streaming biopics all made it in. Diverse voters my ass. Actually I think with older voters these films would have been more supported, since these are the ones who went for Sissy Spacek in Carrie, Liv Ullmann in Face to Face, Emily Watson in Breaking the waves, Vera Drake, Secrets and Lies, Cries and Whisperers, Beasts of the southern wild, Amour, etc.

[@Milos-sj6ir]

Disagree. They nominated Poor Things which is super creative and bizarre in a lot of ways, and they never would have done that even 10 years ago. They've come a long way. So it's not that. With May December, it's more that it's a bit of critique of Hollywood in and of itself.

[@antoniodjordjevic9493]

@@Milos-sj6ir Yorgos Was now at the point where if his film is acclaimed it would do good at the Oscars. Having Emma Stone also helped. Also it is much more academy friendly than all others I've mentioned as bizzare as the film may look, it's for much wider audiences, big studio backing etc. It's not an indie experimental film.

[@Milos-sj6ir]

@@antoniodjordjevic9493 I mean, it's got Emma Stone fucking for about 45 minutes of the film. It's pretty wild. A lot more wild than May December. I've been following the Oscars for about 30 years, and Poor Things getting 11 Oscar nods is the most "indie experimental" they've pretty much ever gone. A lot of the times they play it super safe. But with this, Zone of Interest, Past Lives, Anatomy of the Fall... They've showed some guts. Just not enough to include Saltburn and May December. Mind you, I loved both of those. But a character fucking a grave is probably too much for the Academy.

[@samuelbarber6177]

I don’t know, I wouldn’t describe something like Oppenheimer as playing it safe necessarily. Its length alone would turn off most casual movie goers, let alone its rather complicated plot, tons of characters and bleak ending. And it was beloved by critics. Granted, it’s no All of Strangers maybe.

[@antoniodjordjevic9493]

​@@samuelbarber6177i would disagree cause Oppenheimer feels EXACTLY like something they awarded 20, 30 years ago. It checks all the boxes, epic, period, all star cast, history, famous director, tech juggernaut, box office success etc. Think Dances with Wolves, English Patient, Titanic, Gladiator, etc.

[@maryjames3727]

I found your talk on May-December a little difficult to follow. For some reason, it seemed like you spoke at length about its attributes, proving nothing. It was based on distasteful subject matter. The Academy usually doesn't like that. It was the fodder of gossip and speculation for years. How thought provoking could that script idea possibly be? And the execution of it. As far as I'm concerned, it didn't have a chance. But then, who ever thought Barbie Movie would have received so much acclaim? I still can't figure that one out.

[@branagain]

May December is a fiasco, alright.